The Ohio Valley Steelworker Statue was cast at Centre Foundry and Machine Company in Wheeling, West Virginia and dedicated in 1989. Created by artist Dimitrios Akis, the statue honors the men and women who worked in area iron and steel industries beginning as early as 1856. The statue depicts a steelworker in protective garb pouring molten steel from a hand-held ladle. To make way for a highway interchange at State Route 7 and University Boulevard, the statue was moved to the library in 2015 and overlooks the site of the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel plant.